Middle England By Jonathan Coe (Paperback)
Set in the Midlands and London over the last eight years, Jonathan Coe follows a brilliantly vivid cast of characters through a time of immense change and disruption in Britain.
There are the early married years of Sophie and Ian who disagree about the future of Britain and, possibly, the future of their relationship; Sophie's grandfather whose final act is to send a postal vote for the European referendum; Doug, the political commentator, whose young daughter despairs of his lack of political nous and Doug's Remaining Tory politician partner who is savaged by the crazed trolls of Twitter.
And within all these lives is the story of England itself: a story of nostalgia and irony; of friendship and rage, humour and intense bewilderment.
As acutely alert to the absurdity of the political classes as he is compassionate about those who have been left behind, this is a novel Jonathan Coe was born to write.
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
ISBN: 9780241983683
WINNER OF THE THE COSTA NOVEL AWARD 2019
'The book everyone is talking about' The Times
'A comedy for our times' Guardian
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The country is changing and, up and down the land, cracks are appearing - within families and between generations. In the Midlands Benjamin Trotter tries to help his aged father navigate a Britain that seems to have forgotten he exists, while in London his friend Doug doesn't understand why his teenage daughter is eternally enraged. Meanwhile, newlyweds Sophie and Ian can find nothing to agree on except the fact that their marriage is on the rocks . . .
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'Coe's back with a bang. Middle England is the novel about Brexit we need' Daily Telegraph
'A pertinent, entertaining study of a nation in crisis' Financial Times, Books of the Year
'Very funny. Coe - a writer of uncommon decency - reminds us that the way out of this mess is through moderation, through compromise, through that age-old English ability to laugh at ourselves' Observer
About the Author
Jonathan Coe is the author of thirteen novels, all published by Penguin, which include the highly acclaimed bestsellers
What a Carve Up!, The House of Sleep,
The Rotters' Club,
Number 11 and
Middle England, which won the Costa Novel of the Year Award and the Prix du Livre Europeen
. He is also the author of a biography of B.S Johnson,
Like a Fiery Elephant, and
The Broken Mirror, a children's book.